Merci to Chic and Basta.
Today we have the pleasure of presenting our recipe in a beautiful handmade bowl from Chic and Basta. We recently connected with Manon Martin and Louis Durocher, a lovely couple from the Eastern Townships in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. They promote independent Quebec contemporary creators. Their website, Chic and Basta immediately caught our attention, with so many gorgeous handmade, modern and contemporary pieces. Even their photography is beautiful… so clean and elegant – accentuating their beautiful artisan products. [we’re drooling!]
We enjoyed a short stay in the Eastern Townships in 2002 as part of a road trip we took to Canada’s East Coast. This was one of the most memorable and picturesque places we saw on our trip. Living in a place like that, it’s no wonder Manon and Louis are in touch with their creative side. They must be inspired by their beautiful surroundings! As per their website, thier ambition is, “for Chic & Basta to become an ambassador for the contemporary creators of Quebec”. Visit their website–I think you’ll agree with us when we say, they’re already there.
Thank you Manon and Louis for this seriously beautiful handmade bowl. We love it and we’re proud to tell your story whenever we serve meals in it.
From Quebec to Ireland. Top o’ the mornin’ to ya? St. Patrick’s Day and good green fun!
I did a bit of research… according to the “internet”, “Top o’ the mornin’ to ya” isn’t actually an Irish saying! It’s made up in Hollywood. If any of our readers are from Ireland or have Irish roots, please let us know if this is true in the comments, below. Regardless, it’s fun to say 🙂
With St. Patrick’s Day just a day away, we wanted to cook up something fun and green to help showcase our new serving bowl. The first thought that came to mind was to use our super cool and fun stand-mixer spiralizer attachment sent to us by our friends at KitchenAid Canada. We thought, why not make something colourful and healthy(ish). This recipe looks fancy, but it’s actually quite easy to prepare. And…if you remove the pancetta, it’s a vegetarian dish, and obviously the healthier option. But, you know us. We like the smokiness and flavour of a little pancetta.
Just like pasta!
The zucchini spirals that are created by the spiralizer look a lot like thick spaghetti noodles. Remember, you don’t boil this in water like you do with pasta. Once you add the spiraled zucchini to the pan, it will start to soften after only a few minutes. We like to keep a little bit of the crunch, like al dente pasta. Although the pancetta isn’t a healthy option, it definitely elevates the flavour of this dish. Having said that, if you’re vegetarian or want a meatless meal, feel free to leave out the pancetta. Your meal will still taste great! (But seriously, no pancetta? I can’t even comprehend!)
Make something something green this week because this celebration is not just about green beer. Happy St. Patrick’s day! Eat well, friends.
A little salty, a little saucy, a lot of veggies and packed full of flavour! This pasta-like spiral zucchini is delicious with spinach and crispy pancetta.
- 2 clove garlic
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cup basil leaves (0.7 oz or 20 g)
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 112 g (3.95 oz) pancetta, sliced in small pieces
- 1/2 cooking onion, diced
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup white wine
- 4 whole zucchinis, washed, unpeeled and cut into spirals
- 2 cups spinach
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Add (from the list of pesto ingredients) the garlic, sea salt, black pepper, basil leaves, pine nuts, olive oil and parmesan cheese to a small food processor or blender. Blend until the ingredients are well combined and form a paste. Set aside.
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Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil In a large pan, on medium high.
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Once the oil is hot, add the pancetta and saute until the edges start to brown. Mix occasionally during this process to avoid sticking. About 3 minutes.
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Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes.
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Add the rest of the vegetable oil, tomatoes, salt and pepper, and keep cooking until they've softened a bit. About 4 minutes. Carefully (because they can splatter a bit) press down the tomatoes using a fork or spatula.
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Add the white wine and cook until it reduces to about half the liquid. About 2 minutes.
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Add the zucchini and mix well with all the ingredients. Continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
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Mix in the pesto sauce with the zucchini noodles until they're well coated.
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Distribute the spinach evenly over the zucchini, shut off the stove and cover the pan with the lid for about 4 minutes.
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Remove the cover, toss the noodles with the spinach and transfer to a serving dish.
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Serve hot. Enjoy!
You can use any tool that can cut zucchini into spirals/noodles. Some are manual and some are powered. We used our 5 Blade Spiralizer sent to us by our friends at KitchenAid Canada.
